


Warm me up

by floatingaway4



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 05:08:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27845026
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/floatingaway4/pseuds/floatingaway4
Summary: Alex is cold. Henry warms him up.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor
Comments: 27
Kudos: 146
Collections: RWRB Winterfest 2020





	Warm me up

**Author's Note:**

> For the RWRB Winterfest 2020  
> Prompt: 2: Hot chocolate and 4: cold hands

Alex sprints from the car to the door, but struggles to get the key in the lock because his fingers are already frozen. He finally shoves it open, fighting a sudden gust of wind, and throws himself inside. 

“How is it so cold? Fuck me,” Alex huffs out, yanking his gloves off and blowing warm air on his hands. “One of these days we’re moving to Texas. Or Mexico. Or some South American jungle where it never snows.” 

Henry looks over from the sofa, where he’s flipping through a large, heavy book. “Welcome home,” he says with a smile. It’s become one of their favorite ways of greeting each other since they moved in together. 

Henry gets up and walks over to where Alex is standing, stomping his feet and removing layers. He unwinds the scarf from Alex’s neck and hangs it on the hat tree outside the entryway closet that they use for convenience. He then gleefully pulls the hat from Alex’s head, watching his hair fall everywhere, freeing itself from it’s woolly prison. 

“Hey, baby,” Alex says, greeting Henry with a kiss. “Oh my god, your lips are warm,” he says against Henry’s slightly open mouth. 

“You only love me for my body heat,” Henry jokes, pulling Alex’s body into his. “How did you get so cold in five meters?” 

“I walked part of the way home and then called the car,” Alex explains, his lips pressed somewhere just to the right of Henry’s sternum. 

“Why on earth would you do a stupid thing like that?” 

Alex shrugs. He’s never, in his whole life, had a good answer to that question. “Seemed like a good idea at the time?” 

Henry shakes his head. “Would you care for some hot cocoa?” 

Alex nods, but doesn’t let go of Henry’s warm body. He shoves his cold hands into the back pockets of Henry’s jeans. “In a sec, babe.” Henry smiles and rests his head on Alex’s, quite content to stay right where he is. 

Once Alex can feel his fingers again, he lets go and starts for the stairs. “Where are you going?” Henry asks. 

“To put on some warmer clothes,” Alex calls back, one last shiver coursing through him. 

“Check the dryer,” Henry calls after him. 

Alex is a little fearful that Henry has been doing laundry again, because it doesn’t always turn out well, but it turns out he just threw Alex’s sweatshirt and sweatpants into the dryer to warm them up a little. 

It’s one of the many, many things he loves about Henry. He tries to find a new way to make Alex happy every day. Alex would swear Henry is taking some kind of class on how to be a thoughtful partner. It wouldn’t surprise him at all if there’s some online guru he follows for advice. Either way, Alex falls in love with him a little more every damn day. 

As he’s walking back downstairs, he hears Henry clattering around in the kitchen. This is another area where things have not always ended well, but Alex has to give the man credit for trying. 

He fully expects Henry to be boiling water to pour over one of those Swiss Miss packets with the teeny tiny dried up pieces of marshmallow, but then realizes Henry might have decided to make hot cocoa from scratch, with bakers chocolate or whatever Mary Berry advocates. Or he could just be using the Keurig... 

What Alex doesn’t expect is to see Henry opening a little yellow, hexagonal cardboard box with familiar red stripes. 

“Babe,” Alex says, not wanting to sneak up behind Henry at the stove. He moves to stand beside him and sees the milk warming up in a large, shiny silver saucepan. 

“Hmm,” Henry answers, looking over at him. “You found your clothes? Is that better?” 

“Oh, god, yes, thank you so much.” He pops up on his toes to kiss Henry’s cheek. Henry smiles over at him, then breaks a big chocolate disc into wedges with his bare hands, causing Alex to swoon just a little. He plops the sections into the heating milk and quickly starts stirring with a whisk. Alex has always loved watching this part, loves watching the foam form on the surface. 

“Can you read minds?” Alex asks. 

“No,” Henry says, treating the question with all the seriousness it deserves. “I mean, I know what you’re thinking most of the time but that doesn’t require any particular telepathic skill.” 

“Ha ha.” Alex bites his lip. “Um, do I talk in my sleep?”

“Yes,” Henry tells him with a chuckle. 

“About my favorite kind of hot chocolate?” 

Henry pretends to think. “No, not that I recall. Why?” 

Alex’s brain is racing. “What do I--no, wait, so how did you know…” He finally hits on the obvious answer. “You talked to June.” 

Henry nods and smiles down at him. “I did. And lucky for you, I found this at the bodega near the shelter.” He turns back to watching the pot. “They didn’t have the little wooden…” 

“ _Molinillo_ ,” Alex fills in. 

“Yes, that,” Henry agrees, “but June is sending me one.” 

Alex nuzzles his cold nose against the arm Henry’s using to hold the pot handle. “You know I’d have had to leave your white ass if you bought _Abuelita_ ,” Alex murmurs, only mostly joking.  
  


“Oh, June was very clear on that. She also warned me that only under the most dire circumstances am I allowed to buy something called Swiss Miss, and then I must add cinnamon.” 

They both watch as Henry whisks faster and the cocoa gets dark and bubbly. 

“June said this is a good memory from your childhood,” Henry prompts. 

“Yeah, my dad used to make this on Christmas...before....” Alex’s fingers drift up to play with Henry’s sleeve. “And when we went to visit him after the divorce, he’d make it for no reason on the weekends.” 

  
Henry is quiet, letting Alex talk about those weekends, how his dad made sure they were always fun and overly full of distracting activities. Alex gets quiet again, seems focused on Henry’s hands. “Did she tell you--”

“To sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top?” Henry finishes. He nods toward the little glass jar on the counter, next to their waiting mugs. 

Alex grins and realizes he’ll have to thank June later. Maybe tomorrow, because he already has plans for later tonight that definitely do not involve texting his sister. 

“Actually, I was thinking about adding one other ingredient that I’m assuming you didn’t have as a child,” Henry says. He pours some cocoa into each mug and wipes the edge of the pot with a dishtowel.

“Are you gonna make it British? What are you gonna put in? Suet? Marzipan? Baked beans? Orange marmalade? Blood pudding?” Alex smirks as he goes through the list of ingredients he’s given Henry shit over before. 

“Bite me,” Henry shoots back, startling a laugh out of Alex. He reaches up and grabs a bottle of bourbon from the top of the refrigerator, then raises his eyebrows. “Actually, I was going to make it Irish, if you’d like?” 

Alex eagerly nods. “Holy shit, yes, please. I’m not going out again tonight.” He watches as Henry pours a shot of alcohol into each mug, then sprinkles extra cinnamon on top of Alex’s. 

Alex blows across the top of his mug, then takes a sip. It’s always good, but the extra burn from the alcohol takes it over the top. He looks around at their comfy house, feels the warm fleece against his skin, and tastes the cinnamon on his lips. He smiles up at the man who made all these things possible, just for Alex. 

Only Henry could take something perfect and make it even better.

**Author's Note:**

> I stumbled on this stuff last winter at the international grocery store near me. It’s WAY more fun to make than the powdered packets. When I went online I found out people have OPINIONS about the two kinds, usually depending on what they had as kids….anyway I figured Alex would also have an opinion about it! 
> 
> If you’re not familiar,  
> Ibarra: https://www.mexgrocer.com/2544.html  
> Abuelita: https://www.mexgrocer.com/2550.html
> 
> You can also google ibarra vs abuelita.


End file.
